Personal VOC exposure in a multi-source open-air mass gathering environment: An integrated passive air and
Yun-Hee Choi1, Jaehyun Jung2, Wonsik Shin3
1Department of Safety and Health, Wonkwang University, Iksan, South Korea.
Abstract:
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous air pollutants emitted from diverse everyday sources and are public health concerns. University festivals attract thousands of participants and constitute fully open-air environments with diverse emission sources, including crowd-related dust, stage effects, and cooking activities. However, studies assessing personal VOC exposure in such multi-source festival settings remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate personal VOC exposure in a fully open-air, multi-source university festival by integrating personal air sampling with urinary biomonitoring. This study measured VOC concentrations during the performances (18:00-22:00) on the first day of a university festival held in Jeonbuk, Korea, in May 2025. VOC exposure was assessed by measuring 10 VOCs using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene passive samplers and 7 urinary metabolites. Thirty participants wore neck and wrist samplers during the event, and urine samples were collected before and after the event. VOCs and their metabolites were assessed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, respectively. On the festival day, 9 of 10 VOCs were detected in over 70% of samples. Compared with the non-festival days, concentrations of o-xylene, styrene, limonene, α-pinene, and β-pinene measured by passive samplers increased significantly-by approximately 1.8-21.1 times-at both the neck and wrist during the performances. In addition, urinary metabolite concentrations of o-, m,p-, and o,m,p-methylhippuric acids, mandelic acid, and phenylglyoxylic acid were significantly higher after the festival than before, showing increases of approximately 1.3-2.0 times. This study indicates increased VOC exposure in both personal air and urine samples during the university festival. To support sustainable festival management, appropriate strategies to reduce VOC exposure should be formulated.
